Monday, July 20, 2009

One Small Step for Man . . .

Actually, the most famous quotation in all of space exploration history, “That’s one small step for Man, one giant leap for Mankind,” was a garbled transmission. If you think about it, it doesn’t make much sense. “Man” and “Mankind” are synonymous terms. What Neil Armstrong said that day, exactly 40 years ago, was this:

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for Mankind”

Doesn’t that make more sense?

I was a teenager when Man first walked on the moon. It bothers me that there are people out there in their 30’s who have never been alive when a human walked on another celestial body. Sure it was expensive. But I still drink the Kool-Aid that tells us that we reap many benefits from the space program right here on Earth.

  • Tang.
  • Cordless power tools.
  • Communications satellites
  • Global Positioning Systems

All sorts of stuff were invented to fulfill the special needs of space exploration. All of these things are now part and parcel of our existence on Earth.

Well, except for Tang. Tang is as delicious as Ovaltine.

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